More Adventures in Unconventional Funding Sources: Amtrak Edition

If you occupy a writerly corner of the Internet (you probably do, if you’re reading this and are not my grandma—hi Grandma!), you might have seen this item about Amtrak offering informal “residencies” to some folks who had the good sense to ask for them. This would, I think, be an ideal (and green!) way for an oral historian who needs to travel to conduct some interviews and make significant progress on a book manuscript based on said interviews at the same time. An oral historian… like me. As I imagine it, they would send me to from New York to a couple of cities in the Midwest to interview more folks for the African American AIDS Activism Oral History Project, and I could edit interview transcripts work on the manuscript during the train ride. Based on my previous adventures in unconventional funding sources, I think some social media enthusiasm would probably help, so if you think this is an AWESOME idea, please share this far and wide, on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, SnapChat, Tinder, Grindr, whatever—and/or tweet at them (@Amtrak):

I think @Amtrak should send @danroyles on a #writersresidency to interview folks for African American AIDS Activism Oral History Project!

Just think of the pun opportunities! “I’m totally ON TRACK to finishing this book manuscript!” So share and share alike—and thanks!